Name: 【TED-Ed】反對凱撒大帝的大陰謀--凱瑟琳-坦普斯特。 (【TED-Ed】The great conspiracy against Julius Caesar - Kathryn Tempest)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T05:19:12.000Z
Duration: 5 min 58 s

What would you do if you thought  your country was on the path to tyranny?

若你的國家正走向暴政，你會怎麼辦？

If you saw one man gaining too much power, would you try to stop him?

若你看到某人得到過大的權力，你會嘗試阻止他嗎？

Even if that man was one of your closest friends and allies?

就算他是你最親密的友人和同盟也一樣？

These were the questions haunting Roman Senator Marcus Junius Brutus in 44 BCE,

這些問題在西元前44年不斷困擾著羅馬元老議員馬爾庫斯·尤利烏斯·布魯圖斯

the year Julius Caesar  would be assassinated.

也就是尤利烏斯·凱撒遭到暗殺的那年

Opposing unchecked power  wasn't just a political matter for Brutus;

反對無限制的權力對布魯圖斯來說，不只是政治考量

He claimed dissent from Lucius Junius Brutus,

他稱自己與盧基烏斯·尤利烏斯·布魯圖斯政見相左

who had helped overthrow the tyrannical king known as Tarquin the Proud.

這人曾協助推翻暴君──「高傲者塔克文」的統治

the elder Brutus led the people in a rousing oath

老布魯圖斯帶領人民進行覺醒的宣示：

「羅馬將永遠脫離君主的統治」

based on the principle that no one man should hold too much power.

根據的原則即是「沒有人可以獨掌過大的權力」

Now, four and a half centuries later, this principle was threatened.

現在，四個半世紀過後，這項原則受到了威脅

Julius Ceasar's rise  to the powerful position of consul

尤利烏斯·凱撒崛起成為執政官

Years of military triumphs  had made him the wealthiest man in Rome.

多年的軍功使他成為全羅馬最有錢的人

And after defeating his rival Pompey the Great in a bitter civil war,

而在激烈的內戰中打敗了對手龐培之後

His victories and initiatives,  such as distributing lands to the poor,

他獲得的勝利與主動分送土地給窮人等行為

and many senators vied for his favor  by showering him with honors.

許多議員競相逢迎諂媚以博得青睞

Statues were built,  temples were dedicated,

and a whole month was renamed, still called July today.

甚至為他重新命名月份，至今七月仍以凱撒為名

meant to grant temporary emergency powers in wartime,

本意在戰爭期間授予暫時性的緊急權力

had been bestowed upon Caesar  several times in succession.

And in 44 BCE,  he was made dictator perpetuo,

在西元前44年，他成為「永遠的獨裁官」

dictator for a potentially unlimited term.

All of this was too much for the senators

對於議員而言，這一切太超過了

who feared a return to the monarchy their ancestors had fought to abolish,

有人擔心會回到自己祖先曾致力廢除的君主制狀態

as well as those whose  own power and ambition

A group of conspirators  calling themselves the liberators

began to secretly discuss plans for assassination.

Leading them were the senator Gaius Cassius Longinus

主導者為議員蓋烏斯·卡西烏斯·朗基努斯

and his friend and brother-in-law, Brutus.

以及他的朋友兼妹夫──布魯圖斯

Joining the conspiracy was not  an easy choice for Brutus.

參與此陰謀對於布魯圖斯並不是簡單的選擇

Even though Brutus had sided with Pompey  in the ill-fated civil war,

即便在內戰中，布魯圖斯投靠的是戰敗的龐培陣營

Caesar had personally intervened  to save his life,

凱撒卻曾私下干預，救了他一命

not only pardoning him but even accepting him as a close advisor

不只寬恕了他，甚至將他當作貼身幕僚

Brutus was hesitant to conspire against the man who had treated him like a son,

布魯圖斯對於背叛一個將自己視如己出的人感到很猶豫

Cassius's insistence and Brutus's own fear of Caesar's ambitions won out.

卡西烏斯的堅持和布魯圖斯對於凱撒野心的恐懼戰勝了

The moment they had been waiting for came on March 15.

他們等待已久的時機在3月15日到來

held shortly before Caesar was to depart on his next military campaign,

在凱撒準備啟程前往下一次軍事戰役之前

as many as 60 conspirators surrounded him,

unsheathing daggers from their togas and stabbing at him from all sides.

自寬外袍中抽出匕首，從四面八方刺向他

Caesar struggled fiercely until he saw Brutus.

凱撒奮力地抵抗，直到他看見布魯圖斯

Despite the famous line, "Et tu, Brute?"  written by Shakespeare,

雖然莎士比亞曾寫下傳世名句「吾兒，亦有汝焉？」

we don't know Caesar's actual dying words.

但我們並不知道凱撒真正的遺言為何

Some ancient sources claim he said nothing,

根據部分古老文獻的記載，他什麼也沒講

while others record the phrase,  "And you, child?",

但其他文獻則記載下一句話「還有你嗎，我的兒子？」

fueling speculation that Brutus may have actually been Caesar's illegitimate son.

為布魯圖斯是凱撒私生子的猜測提供了有力佐證

But all agree that when  Caesar saw Brutus among his attackers,

但無庸置疑的是：當凱撒在攻擊者中看見布魯圖斯之後

he covered his face and gave up the fight,

falling to the ground  after being stabbed 23 times.

he and the other conspirators  had underestimated Caesar's popularity

many of whom saw  him as an effective leader,

Within moments of Caesar's assassination, Rome was in a state of panic.

在凱撒遭到暗殺後，羅馬隨即陷入恐慌

while the assassins barricaded themselves on the Capitoline Hill.

其他暗殺者則躲在卡比托利歐山丘

Mark Antony,  Caesar's friend and co-consul,

馬克·安東尼，凱撒的朋友及副官

delivering a passionate speech  at Caesar's funeral days later

在幾天後的凱撒喪禮發表了激昂的演說

that whipped the crowd into a frenzy  of grief and anger.

煽動人們陷入悲傷與憤怒的狂潮

As a result, the liberators  were forced out of Rome.

The ensuing power vacuum  led to a series of civil wars,

隨之而來的權力真空導致一連串的內戰

during which Brutus,  facing certain defeat, took his own life.

在此期間，布魯圖斯因為面臨某些挫敗而自殺了

would be the opposite of what the conspirators had hoped to accomplish:

與謀反者最初期望的目標完全相反：

and the concentration of power  under the office of Emperor.

Opinions over the assassination of Caesar  were divided from the start

對於暗殺凱撒的意見從初始便存在分歧

few historical figures have inspired  such a conflicting legacy.

極少有歷史人物曾啟發這麼多彼此衝突的衍生角色

In Dante's "Inferno," he was placed  in the very center of Hell

在但丁的《神曲》地獄篇中，他被放在地獄正中央

and eternally chewed by Satan himself for his crime of betrayal.

且因為背叛的罪行被撒旦本人無止盡地啃噬

但在斯威夫特所著的《格列佛遊記》中

described him as one of the most virtuous and benevolent people to have lived.

將他形容成世上最賢良仁慈的人之一

The interpretation of Brutus as either a selfless fighter against dictatorship

布魯圖斯要不是被當作對抗獨裁的無私鬥士

has shifted with the tides  of history and politics.

這兩種解釋隨著歷史和政治的潮流不斷轉換

the conflict between  personal loyalties and universal ideals,

and unintended consequences remain more relevant than ever.

以及意外的結果，這些問題之間的關聯卻前所未有的緊密